


Nothing to Lose

by ammiehawk



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-04-20 01:57:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14250612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ammiehawk/pseuds/ammiehawk
Summary: After a drunk night in Vegas, Harry wakes up in a strange hotel room, with a gold band on his finger that won’t come off, no matter how hard he tries. Panicking, he leaves before his newfound spouse wakes up.





	1. Prologue: The Aftermath

Nothing to Lose

By Ammie Hawk

 

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Avengers or Harry Potter.

 

Summary: After a drunk night in Vegas, Harry wakes up in a strange hotel room, with a gold band on his finger that won’t come off, no matter how hard he tries. Panicking, he leaves before his newfound spouse wakes up.

 

Prologue: The Aftermath

 

Harry Potter groaned quietly as he started to wake up. His head was pounding and his mouth tasted like something had died in it, clear signs of an over indulgence of alcohol. One green eye cracked open, to gauge the brightness of the room, only to squeeze shut almost immediately from the intensity of the morning desert sun. After another moment, he knew he would have to face the day, as his bladder was making itself known.

Very carefully, he crawled out of the king sized bed and padded quietly to the bathroom. Once he had relieved himself, he made his way to the sink to wash his hands and splash some water on his face. He felt marginally better after that, but opened the mirrored cabinet and found a bottle of painkillers. He downed three and leaned on the counter with his eyes closed, wishing he had thought to bring a hangover potion with him when he decided to visit Las Vegas.

The twenty-five year old had been living in New York for the past eight years, since the final battle of Hogwarts. He had basically washed his hands of the wizarding world and disappeared to the States. He only kept in contact with a couple of people and then not on a regular basis.

No, he had opened a little shop in Manhattan that sold teas and herbal remedies, read magical herbs and potions that were made Muggle friendly. He didn’t really need the money, but it filled his days, kept him busy. And while he mostly kept to himself, he had become somewhat friends with some of his regular customers. Which was the reason he was actually in Vegas at the moment.

One of his more loyal customers, Steve, had wandered in several months ago looking for something to help him sleep. He was a tall man, over six feet, with short blond hair, and was solid muscle. He was a bit bulky for Harry’s tastes, but he was one of the sweetest, most well mannered men he’d met since moving to the States. After he had recommended a mild sleeping draught, disguised as a tea, they had started up an interesting, albeit unlikely, friendship. They never discussed many personal matters, but they got along well enough.

It had been Steve who had suggested he take some time off and see the country that he now lived in, when he had admitted he’d not left the city in eight years. As an added incentive, the man had offered to watch the shop for him while he was gone. How could he really refuse that? So, together, they had pulled out a map and marked all the touristy spots across the nation and planned a trip.

He had decided to start in Vegas because it was the biggest distraction he could think of. It had sounded like a good idea, but he’d only been there twenty-four hours and already he was regretting ever setting foot in Sin City.

He could feel the painkillers starting to kick in and opened his eyes again. A frown marred his features as he caught sight of a flash of gold on his left hand. No. No, no, no, no, no, this could not be happening. He lifted his hand to examine the plain gold band more closely. He tried to pull it off, but it wouldn’t budge, even when he tried using water and soap. It was like it was stuck there by magic.

God, he had to fix this, now. He needed to get home, and take a fucking hangover potion. First, though, he should probably find his clothes and find out who exactly he had ended up married to.

So, as quietly as he could manage he made his way out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. He wished he could’ve just observed from the doorway, but sadly his glasses were across the room on the bedside table. He contemplated crawling his way over, but quickly discarded it. If his new spouse woke up, he would face them like he had everything in his life. With that thought, he squared his shoulders and crossed the room.

He slipped on his glasses and was momentarily distracted by the folded piece of paper lying next to them. He picked it up, but hadn’t managed to open it when the other occupant of the room shifted on the bed. Green eyes flew in that direction and finally landed on his newly acquired spouse.

There, sprawled across the bed, still, thankfully, passed out, was a broad shouldered, bare backed male. Well, all he could see above the blankets poled around his waist was the back, he assumed, like himself, the other was completely naked. He was lying on his stomach with his face turned away from him. From what he could see, which admittedly wasn’t all that much considering, the man was attractive. He was fit, with a light definition of muscles, not overly bulky, which Harry highly approved of. His brown hair was short, and currently tousled from both sleep and their obvious nightly activities.

He shook his head, now was not the time to be checking out his latest shag. It didn’t matter that he was apparently married to him, or maybe it mattered more. Either way, he really had to get home and find a way to fix this. With that thought, he located his pants and put them on. His shirt took a moment but he finally found it hanging off the lamp in the corner. He gave up on his socks and shoes as a lost cause as the figure on the bed began to stir.

He snatched his wallet and personal effects from the nightstand and made a beeline for the door. Once he was sure he was clear of the cameras, he Apparated directly into his apartment in New York.

It was a small place above his shop in Manhattan with a single bedroom, bathroom, and a combined living room and kitchen. It wasn’t much, but it suited his needs. He appeared in the middle of his living room and sank down onto his second hand couch. He raked his hands through his hair in agitation before snatching his cell and dialing an all too familiar number.

~What do you want, Potter?~ an irritated male voice answered on the second ring.

“I need your help,” he sighed, he really hated admitting that.

~Oh god, Harry, what did you do this time?~

“I think I kinda accidentally got married,” Harry flinched slightly, oh this was so messed up.

~I think I need some more context,~ the other took a deep breath. ~Start at the beginning.~

“Fine,” Harry almost growled but refrained. “Well, I decided I was going to take a vacation and see some of the sights around the States that I haven’t seen yet. I don’t know why exactly, but I decided to start in Las Vegas. Things were going great. I don’t know exactly when or how it happened, but I can’t remember much of last night. All I know is that this morning, I woke up, hung-over. And there is now a ring on my finger that won’t come off. And I was in bed with a strange man. It wasn’t even my hotel room.”

~You’re screwed, Harry.~

“Don’t say that, Draco!” he snapped. “You’re supposed to be helping me come up with a way to get out of this, not giving up.”

~Fine, you want my help,~ Draco scoffed. ~Have you tried everything possible to take that ring off? Water? Soap? Magic?~

“I haven’t tried magic yet,” the raven sat up and grabbed his wand.

He tried every spell he could think of, but nothing seemed to work. Short of cutting off his finger, this ring was not coming off his hand.

“Nothing’s working,” he finally said in frustration. “Unless I want to cut my finger off.”

~It’d just move fingers,~ the former Slytherin took a deep breath. ~This is old school magic, Harry. Not too long ago, this form of binding was common place in the Wizarding community. It’s a minor binding ritual that, once consummated, can’t be undone. It is literally till death do you part. The rings will not come off until one party is dead. If I recall correctly, most of them have an anti-cheating spell woven in. If you sleep with someone other than your spouse, think Cruciatus.~

“Damn, that’s terrible,” Harry gasped.

~I didn’t create the ritual,~ the blond defended. ~I mean, not all witches and wizards use it, it fell out of fashion a few decades ago, but it pops up every now and then.~

“How do you know so much about all this anyway?” green eyes narrowed suspiciously.

~I know someone who had something similar happen,~ Draco replied. ~You know him too. Severus got married that way, pretty similar circumstances too, if you take his word for it.~

“Snape?” he asked incredulously. “Snape’s married?”

~Yeah,~ the former Slytherin chuckled. ~To hear him talk, it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to him, but deep down, I know he actually cares about his husband. You should ask him about it sometime.~

“Right,” the former Gryffindor scoffed. “Cause that’s a conversation I want to have with Snape.”

~Suit yourself,~ he could tell Draco shrugged. ~Anyway, you should probably talk to your spouse. Figure all this out before something bad happens. Who are you married to anyway?~

“Oh god, I don’t even know,” Harry groaned. “Wait, I think I have the marriage certificate.” He pulled out the paper he’d picked up that morning. “Yeah, here it is. Anthony Edward Stark.”

888888

Tony Stark stretched slightly as he started to wake up. He could hear someone moving around the room, so he decided to pretend to still be asleep until they were gone. With the hangover he had, he was not in the mood to deal with his latest conquest. Though, it was a bit unsettling, he was usually the one that left, or had them thrown out. Maybe he was losing his touch.

When he finally heard the door click closed behind the unintentional guest, he rolled over onto his back and tried to remember anything from the previous night. It was pretty fuzzy, thanks to the obviously large amounts of alcohol he’d consumed. Though, he did remember green eyes, greener than emeralds, and short, thick, black hair that seemed to fall naturally into a ‘just fucked’ look. Following that thought was a lean, wiry body. Ah, male. That would explain their hasty retreat. His male bed companions didn’t tend to stick around as long as his female ones.

The longer he thought, the more was coming back to him. He had been in Vegas for a business meeting that Pepper had not let him weasel out of. So afterwards, he had decided to go out on the town, looking for a hot body to spend some time with. He’d gone to an exclusive club, and was almost immediately set upon by men and women alike, all vying for his attention. Though, the young man standing at the bar caught his eye easily. He had been nursing a drink of some sort, leaning back on his elbows against the counter. He had been wearing a dark green leather jacket over a plain white t-shirt and tight fitting black leather pants that left little to the imagination, and calf length leather boots. He was definitely eye candy and Tony definitely wanted a piece of that.

The rest of the night was kind of a blur, but he did remember going back to his hotel room, a rare occurrence for him. What followed after that was some of the best sex he’d had in years. He was getting hard just thinking about it.

He was interrupted from his fantasy/memories, however, by the ringing of his phone. The ringtone indicated that it was Pepper and he knew if he ignored her she would just continue to call, or worse, come and find him. So, he sat up and quickly located his cell.

“Pepper,” he forced himself to sound chipper, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

~Tony, what did you do?~ the CEO of Stark Industries asked, her voice furious.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” he frowned. “But apparently, I obviously did something, so who was he?”

~He?~ she practically screeched. ~He, Tony? It’s bad enough that you got married while in Vegas, but to a guy? Are you insane?~

“Married?” he shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

His frown deepened as he held up his left hand. Sure enough, sitting innocently on his left ring finger was a gold wedding band. He tried to pull it off, but it wouldn’t budge.

~I need you back in New York, today,~ she continued when the silence started to drag on. ~We need to prepare a statement, and call a press conference. We need to control this, Tony.~

“Fine,” he knew better than to argue when she was like this. “Have the jet prepared. I’ll be ready to leave in about an hour.”

He clicked off the device before she could say anything else and flopped back on the pillows. How had this happened? He had always been so careful not to let anything like this happen. And in his thirty-two years he had never even come close to something like this. True, he was fighting paternity tests every other week, but he was always careful, and none of them had ever turned out to be true. So, how in not even that drunk of a night did he end up married?

He sighed heavily and got out of bed. He made his way to the bathroom to grab a quick shower. As he exited the bathroom, with a towel secured around his waist, his eyes landed on something that shouldn’t be there. There, draped over the corner of the T.V., was the sleeve of that memorable jacket.

He went over and carefully pulled it out from behind the television. His… husband, god that was weird to even think about, must have been in a big hurry this morning to have left it behind. He shook his head, though it could be a good way to find him. Even if he wasn’t staying in the same hotel, a jacket of this quality would be remembered and more than likely missed.

He tossed it on the bed for later inspection and began moving around the room, gathering his things. As he made his way systematically through the room, he found the other man’s socks and boots as well. They joined the jacket on the bed. He would stop by the front desk before he left and see if he couldn’t locate his wayward spouse, because without his shoes he couldn’t have gone far.

He finished packing his things in record time, especially for him, and picked up the boots and jacket and left the room. He made his way down to the lobby. As planned, he stopped at the front desk, shooting a quick text to his driver, Happy Hogan, to bring the car around.

“Excuse me,” he held up two fingers to flag down the receptionist.

“How can I help you, Mr. Stark?” the blond woman behind the counter asked with a friendly smile.

“Checking out,” he slid his room card across the counter. “Also, I was wondering if you could help me find someone? He’s about five six, five seven, a hundred fifty, hundred sixty pounds, black hair, green eyes.”

“Can’t say that I’ve seen him,” she frowned slightly, and began typing something into the computer in front of her. “Did he do something wrong?”

“No, nothing like that,” he flashed his most charming smile, being him did have its perks. “Just wanted to return some of his things, that’s all.”

“Hmm,” her lips pursed as she studied her screen. “We don’t have anyone matching that description staying in this hotel.”

“Then maybe you or one of your coworkers saw him,” he frowned. “He would’ve left about an hour ago?”

“Unfortunately, I’ve been the only one on the desk for a few hours and I haven’t seen anyone come through that looked like that.”

“Well, thanks anyway,” he slid a hundred across the counter for her trouble.

He turned and made his way out of the hotel. Happy was waiting for him by the entrance. He handed his suitcase to his driver and slipped into the backseat of the car, still holding the stray belongings of his newly acquired husband.


	2. The Truth

Chapter 1: The Truth

 

Tony stood in the empty lobby of the newly erected, aka still being finished, Stark Tower. It had been two days since Vegas and Pepper had finally called the press conference she wanted. As soon as he had returned, he had set Jarvis on finding his husband. So far, nothing had come of it. There were just too many people who fit the general description he had, and with no name or photo to go on there was no way to narrow it down. Now, though, it was time to do damage control.

The news of his marriage had hit the media by the time he had landed in New York. Pepper had only found out because she had Jarvis monitoring anything about Tony while he was away, apparently she didn’t want another Afghanistan. Come to think of it, neither did he, so he didn’t blame her for it. He had managed to fend off the reporters, but he knew, just as Pepper had said, that they needed to take control of the situation. His CEO had prepared a speech for him and had even given him note cards to read. He took a deep breath and fiddled nervously with the cards as the redhead approached him.

“Ready?” she asked, straightening his tie. “And remember, Tony, stick to the cards. This will all blow over in a couple days if you just _stick to the cards._ ”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” he swatted her hands away, and made his way to the door.

He wasn’t quite sure why she was so adamant about this going away, but, well, who was he to argue with her. She usually had his best interests at heart.

He went through the doors and held up his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and the flash of the many cameras pointed at him. He plastered his most charming smile on his face and waved as he made his way to the podium that had been set up for the occasion.

“Welcome,” he held up his hands for silence, he had agreed to do this only if he wasn’t forced to answer any questions. “Now, I know you are all curious about the rumors that have been circulating since my recent trip to Vegas. I am here to tell you that they are all…” he glanced down at the card. _False_ , it said. But as he stared at the word, the sun glinted on the gold band he’d been unable to remove, even with the advanced tools at his disposal. “True. They are all true.” He held up his hand again as everyone began speaking at once. “I am married. However, my spouse has requested to keep their anonymity and I am asking that you respect that. Thank you.”

He turned as more questions were fired his way and walked back into the tower and out of sight of the cameras. He leaned against the wall and ran his hands over his face.

“What were you thinking, Tony?” Pepper marched over to him, a vein pulsing in her temple. “We discussed this. You were supposed to deny everything, and when we found the individual, we would have it quietly annulled, and everything would go back to normal.”

“Normal for who, exactly, Pepper?” brown eyes narrowed into a glare. “You? Because if you hadn’t noticed, my life hasn’t exactly been normal for the past several years. I am Iron Man. I have an arc reactor in my chest that is keeping me alive. It almost poisoned me to death a year ago. Maybe this is normal for me. Did you ever think of that?”

“Fine,” she threw up her hands in frustration. “It’s your life, do what you want.”

888888

Harry stared at his television in mild annoyance. Why did he have to be married to a complete and utter idiot? This man was supposed to be a genius. He’d done his research since he’d gotten home. In fact, that’s all he’d done since he returned. But even a moron knows not to tell the press to leave something alone. That’s just handing them an open invitation to pry, or worse, make things up.

Oh god, he really needed to talk to this man. There was no way in the seven layers of hell he was going to let Anthony “Tony” Edward Stark ruin what he had worked the last eight years for. He was going to deal with this now.

With that thought, he got off the couch. He grabbed his wallet, wand, keys, and the marriage certificate, and headed for the door. He pulled a denim jacket from the hook by the door. He couldn’t believe he’d left his good one, a gift from Draco for his last birthday, in Vegas. He had gone back once he’d finished his call to the former Slytherin, and calmed down enough to think clearly, and gathered his things from his hotel room and check out. But he didn’t even know where in Vegas he’d lost it, that night was a complete blank. He just hoped that whoever had found it was enjoying it, cause it was a fucking nice coat. He shook his head and slipped on the jacket before making his way out of the apartment.

His apartment was located over his shop, and sadly, he had to go through the store to leave. He had thought of adding an outside entrance, but he actually felt safer with only the one. He entered the shop and saw Steve helping a customer, or at least trying to. He couldn’t help but notice his friend and temporary employee’s confusion, so he sidetracked to offer his assistance.

“Is there something I can help you with?” he asked when he was close enough.

“Harry?!” Steve whirled around, startled. “When did you get back? I thought you were supposed to be on the west coast.”

“Yeah, something came up,” the raven haired man scowled. “Please don’t ask. Anyway, what seems to be the trouble?”

“This lady,” the taller man motioned to the customer, “needs something to help her relax and I’m not sure where to look.”

“Pepper!” Harry smiled as he recognized the redheaded woman as one of his regulars. “It’s good to see you again. And I thought I showed you where the relaxants were… Right, I got bored and reorganized. It’s now in the back right hand corner.” He motioned for both of them to follow him. “Now, Pepper, were you looking for your usual tea, or perhaps I can interest you in a cream, for a more instantaneous effect?”

“You’ve never offered a cream before,” she frowned slightly.

“It’s new,” he shrugged. “One of my friends made it. It works wonders. I was kinda his guinea pig, so I get to sell it first. It is kinda pricey, but worth it. A little bit goes a long way.” He picked up a small jar of light green cream from the shelf they stopped in front of, “I think you’ll enjoy the Magical Mint. It also comes in Luxuriating Lavender and Charmed Chamomile.” He handed it to her as he also grabbed her usual chamomile mint tea. “Just use a small dab across the forehead in the morning, and one at night,” he explained. “Keeps you calm and focused all day, and gives you a restful night’s sleep.”

“I’ll take it,” she smiled.

“Great,” he beamed. “Steve’ll ring you up. Unfortunately, I have some business to take care of. Steve,” he turned to the blond, “just charge for the cream, the tea’s on me.”

“No, Harry,” Pepper protested, “I can pay for the tea as well.”

“I insist,” he shook his head. “You are one of my most loyal customers, and you’re the first to buy the cream. It’s my treat.”

“You’re a gem, Harry,” she kissed his cheek.

“Well, I’ll see you later,” he chuckled slightly. “I really do have to go. Just remember to use that sparingly, it’s pretty potent stuff.”

With that, he took his leave. Once on the street, he turned in the direction of Stark Tower. He decided to walk the ten blocks from his shop to the tower, needing the time to calm down and get his thoughts in order. His first item was to chew this man out for going to the fucking press. Then he had to convince the notorious playboy that they had to be loyal to each other till death did they part, and he couldn’t exactly do that without telling him about magic. He didn’t really care about the Statute of Secrecy, it kinda became a moot point, what with the marriage/binding that had happened. Getting the man to believe he was telling the truth was another story entirely. Highly educated people tended to be skeptical about magic as a general rule.

He sighed as he finally reached the entrance to the tower. He knew it wasn’t technically open to the public yet, as it was still under construction, but he really hoped there would be someone that could point him in the right direction. Luckily, there were several people standing in the lobby when he pushed the doors open. A relatively heavyset man with short curly hair noticed him first and went to cut him off.

“Can I help you?” he asked once he was in front of him.

“Yeah,” he shook his head. “I was wondering if Mr. Stark was in.”

“Mr. Stark isn’t taking any visitors today,” the man rolled his eyes. “Sorry, kid, you’ll have to get an autograph some other time.”

“No, you don’t understand, _sir_ ,” he held his ground. “I have to see Mr. Stark. It’s important.”

“Look, kid,” the man grabbed his arm and began walking him back the way he came, “it’s time for you to leave.”

“No, I ruddy well will not, you old codger,” he snapped, jerking out of his hold, tired of being treated like a wayward child. “I will see Mr. Stark, right now, even if I have to do it by force.”

“Is there a problem here, Happy?” a female voice asked from behind Harry.

“Yeah, there is,” he closed his eyes, trying to regain his composure. “I really need to see Mr. Stark and…” green eyes opened and locked with brown. “Pepper. Pepper… Potts. I feel like a right idiot. You have been in my shop so many times and I never connected that you were the CEO of Stark Industries.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Pepper chuckled. “I actually enjoyed the anonymity I got in your shop. It was refreshing.”

“That’s what I strive for,” he shrugged. “Anyway, I hate to use our friendship, but I really, really need to see Mr. Stark. Think you could arrange it for me?”

“I’m sorry, Harry,” she shook her head. “Tony’s busy at the moment and doesn’t want to be disturbed. Maybe I could set up an appointment for you to meet with him tomorrow?”

“I really need to see him now,” the raven shook his head adamantly. “Now, I have a feeling that he and that press conference are the reason you came into my shop today, so let me go piss him off a little bit for you.”

She stared at him for a moment, taking in the deceptively innocent smile he gave her. She didn’t know why he was being so insistent, but he was pretty harmless. And while she didn’t know what Tony had done to piss the usually mild mannered man off, she was entirely too annoyed with him to really care.

“Alright,” an almost evil smirk crossed her features. “Follow me.”

She turned on her heel and headed for the elevator. Harry sent Happy a smug look, just barely refraining from sticking out his tongue, before following after her. Almost as soon as he caught up with her, the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.

“So,” she said once the doors were closed, “what did Tony do to piss you off?”

“Sorry,” he smiled apologetically, “it’s personal. And I really should discuss it with him first.”

“Fine by me,” she shrugged nonchalantly, though her curiosity was almost eating her alive, as they arrived at their destination.

They stepped out and she led him down the hall. They stopped outside a door and Pepper typed in a series of numbers on the keypad. She opened the door and motioned him inside.

“Give him hell, Harry,” she said quietly as she closed the door behind him.

The former Gryffindor took a deep breath before moving further into the room. It was a lab of some sort, with all sorts of computers and machinery scattered around. He heard a voice that seemed to come from all around address the brunet. Before it could give him away, he cast a quick silencing charm and easily shut the A.I. up. Not too far into the room, Tony Stark stood with his back to the doorway. He took a moment to admire the other as he bent over his task before clearing his throat slightly.

“Look, Pepper,” the genius didn’t turn around or even stop what he was doing. “I said what I said and I’m not taking it back.”

“You know, next time, before opening your big mouth to the press, you might want to consider a few things,” he crossed his arms over his chest. “Like the feelings of the other parties involved. And that telling the press to leave something alone is moronic and stupid.”

Tony whipped around to face him, a screwdriver held up as a weapon. Brown eyes narrowed and the weapon never faltered as he took in the intruder.

“Who the hell are you?” he snapped. “And how the fuck did you get in?”

“Pepper let me in,” he shrugged. “You really pissed her off. Seems to be your main agenda today, cause you pissed me off too.”

“I repeat, who the hell are you?”

“This should answer your question,” he reached into his pocket and held up the paper he’d put in there earlier between the first two fingers of his right hand.

“I don’t like being handed things,” Tony countered stubbornly.

Green eyes narrowed dangerously. This man was seriously something else. So, putting a bit of magic behind it, he flicked the paper at the brunet’s face. A smirk flitted across his features as the paper hit the other’s forehead and began floating down in front of him. Tony caught it almost instinctively, and unfolded it before looking down and reading it.

“You…” he looked up amazed and finally really looked at the man before him. “You’re Harry?”

“No, I’m a reporter who just happens to have the marriage certificate you couldn’t find,” he said sarcastically. “Of course I’m Harry. You really are an idiot, aren’t you?”

“Look, Harry,” Tony held up his hands placatingly, “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Why don’t we go upstairs? It’s not fully furnished yet, but there’s a couch, and alcohol, and we’ll be more comfortable there.”

“Fine,” the wizard took a deep breath. “And while we’re at it, you can give me my boots back.”

Tony laughed as he finally set down the screwdriver. He motioned for Harry to follow him as he made his way to the door.

“Jarvis,” he said to the room at large, “save those schematics and make sure the penthouse is ready for use.” He frowned when the A.I. didn’t answer right away. “Jarvis?”

“Oh, right,” Harry said sheepishly. “ _Finite_. He should work fine now.”

“Jarvis?” the brunet asked curiously, keeping an eye on this newfound spouse.

“Yes, sir,” the A.I. answered. “The penthouse is ready for you and your guest. Just because I could not speak, did not mean I could not hear and process your requests. The information you requested has been placed on your tablet for perusal at your leisure.”

“Information?” a dark brow rose curiously.

“Oh, just some research I’ve been doing,” the genius shrugged, beginning the trek to the elevator. “Anyway, was that Latin? I only know one person who speaks Latin, and she’s an assassin. And what did you do to Jarvis? Virus? EMP? Some high tech gizmo I don’t know about?”

“Has anyone told you, you talk too much?” Harry shook his head. “And explanations are best left for a more private setting.”

“I get it, we’ll hold off on the heavy stuff for a bit,” he held up his hands, as they stepped into the elevator. “As for talking, lots of people tell me I talk too much, but you’ll find its part of my charm.”

“Right,” the raven scoffed. “Because babbling on like an idiot is a huge turn on.”

“Well not all of us can have that sexy British accent that probably has people falling all over themselves to get in your pants, now can we?”

“You know,” the bespectacled man looked unimpressed by the complement, “growing up, I didn’t have an accent, I just talked. It wasn’t till I moved here did it get called a ‘sexy British accent.’ It’s just one more way for people to single me out, and quite frankly, I hate it.”

“Touchy,” the brunet covered his mouth to hide his amusement.

The elevator finally arrived at their destination, and Tony motioned for Harry to precede him into the penthouse. The raven haired man nodded and made his way to the couch in the center of the room in a depressed portion of the floor. The billionaire, meanwhile, made a beeline for the bar on the opposite side of the room.

“Drink?” he offered, pouring himself a measure of scotch.

“Yeah, sure,” Harry shook his head, as he tried to make himself comfortable.

“What’s your pleasure?” Tony asked, preparing to play bartender.

“Scotch, if you’ve got a decent one,” he sighed, he really needed a good drink for this conversation.

“A man after my own heart,” the brunet pulled out another glass and picked up both in one hand and the decanter in the other and made his way over to the couch.

He took a seat and poured them each a drink. He handed one to Harry and picked up his own before making himself comfortable.

“So,” he took a swig of his alcohol, finally taking the time to enjoy it, “now that we’re comfortable, where would you like to begin?”

“God, this is going to be a long night,” Harry took a drink of his own liquor. “First off,” his eyes narrowed dangerously, “you pull another stunt like that with the press and I’ll kick your ass. I do want my anonymity, that’s why I fucking came to the States to begin with.”

“Hold up,” the genius held up his glass to cut the other off. “If you didn’t want the limelight, you shouldn’t have married me. My life has been under press scrutiny since I was born. I just rolled with what I was given.”

“Let’s get one thing straight,” the raven snapped, “I didn’t marry…” he took a deep breath, “I didn’t plan to marry you, nor did I choose to. All I remember of that night is that I went to a club, to have a few drinks to start off my vacation, and the next thing I know, I’m waking up in your hotel room with this fucking ring on my finger.”

“Well, I didn’t plan it,” he scoffed. “I’ve been avoiding entanglements that lasted more than one night since I was twenty years old.”

“Yeah, I’ve lived here for eight years, it’s kinda hard to miss your exploits,” he sneered. “So, what? Was I supposed to be just another notch on your bedpost? Well, at least until you realized you couldn’t remove that ring from your fucking finger.”

“Look,” Tony ran his hand through his hair, “if it bothers you that much, we can just get it annulled and we can go back to our separate lives.”

“You really are an idiot,” Harry stood up. “If you haven’t noticed, these rings aren’t coming off. We can’t just go sign a piece of paper and say it’s over. We are bound together till death do we part. Now, I’m gonna go. I thought I could deal with your idiocy tonight, but obviously, I was wrong. If you pull your head out of your ass and decide you want to talk, Pepper knows where to find me.” He put his glass on the table and made his way to the elevator. “Oh, and Tony,” he glanced over his shoulder before he hit the button, “I would suggest you not give in to your playboy antics, because if you cheat on me it will not end pleasantly for you.”

With that final warning, he called the elevator and left the tower.


	3. Consequences

Nothing to Lose

By Ammie Hawk

 

Disclaimer: Still not mine…

 

AN: So, here’s the next chapter. Please don’t kill me for what happens.

 

Chapter 2: Consequences

 

The next morning, Tony made his way out of Stark Tower and back to the hotel he was staying at until his new home was completed. After Harry had stormed off the previous night, not that he was entirely sure what had set him off, he had spent the rest of the night reading up on his new spouse. Granted, there wasn’t much about him, aside from the fact that he was born in a small town called Godric’s Hollow to James and Lily Potter. His parents had died in what was labeled a freak accident when he was fifteen months old and he had then lived with his mother’s sister, Petunia Dursley.

Nothing extraordinary had come up after that until he was eleven, when he fell off the radar till he was seventeen. At that point, he moved from England to New York and opened a little shop, that was now an internationally famous franchise, which he owned with a partner, some minor player named Draco Malfoy.

As he arrived at the hotel, his phone began ringing. He fished it out of his pocket and placed it to his ear. He had a bone to pick with Pepper anyway.

“Pepper, so nice of you to call,” he smiled.

~Where are you, Tony?~ the redhead said irritably. ~I have been at your hotel room for the past half hour, waiting on you, and it doesn’t even look like you’ve been here all night.~

“Naw,” he said flippantly, “I decided to stay at the tower. Look, I’m on my way up, why don’t you order us some breakfast and we can talk.”

~Fine,~ she snapped and ended the call.

The billionaire shook his head as he slipped the device back into his pocket and headed for the elevator. When the elevator came to a stop at the appropriate floor, he made his way to the Presidential suite. Once he opened the door, he saw the redhead pacing in the sitting area, obviously irritated.

“So, Pepper,” he closed the door behind him, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this fine morning?”

“I’m glad to see you’re in one piece,” she scoffed slightly, belying her words. “Now, I’m actually here to go over your itinerary for the next few days until the gala. You have an appointment with the tailor later this afternoon. And tomorrow you have a meeting with the board of directors.”

“Didn’t I make you CEO so I wouldn’t have to deal with the board anymore?” he cut in.

“Your name is still on the company,” she leveled him with a look. “And you’re also planning to put that name on this tower you’re building. So you will be dealing with the board. On another note, should I add a plus one to the guest list for the gala? Or have you given up on locating your new spouse?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Tony shook his head. “Unless you think I can find him in the next two days?”

“Truthfully?” she chuckled slightly. “I’m surprised you haven’t found him yet. Alright, no spouse at the gala. By the way, do you have any leads on that end? We really don’t need him going to the press with his own version of events.”

“Nope,” the genius lied easily, he’d been hoping to see if she knew the truth, but obviously she didn’t. Though, maybe he could get some answers out of her without revealing all his cards. “By the way, I have a bone to pick with you. Why in the hell did you let some punk ass into my tower last night?”

“Oh, Harry?” she waved flippantly. “He’s normally a really nice guy, but he was ready to punch Happy in order to see you. So I just directed him in the direction of our ire. What did you do to him anyway?”

“Nothing,” he shook his head. “Which is why he left shortly after he arrived.”

“Fine,” her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Keep your secrets. I’ll get it out of one of you eventually. Now, back to the task at hand.”

888888

Tony stood alone at the bar that had been setup at the gala three days later, resplendent in a black tuxedo. He was nursing his drink as his eyes scanned the crowd. The past few days had been trying for him, with all the meetings and things that Pepper had forced him into, as well as continuing the work on the tower. He hadn’t found out anything new about his spouse, not that he’d had much time to do so, and short of talking to the man, he didn’t think he’d find out more. And he wasn’t sure how he’d be received after their disastrous last encounter. Though he was tempted to, he really did want to make things work with the spirited young man.

He was brought from his musings by a hand on his arm. He glanced over and saw the hand belonged to a pretty little blonde.

“So,” she gave him a coy smile, “it looks like you want to get out of here. What do you say you and I slip out the back and have a little party of our own?”

Tony knew he shouldn’t. Pepper would flay him alive if this got out, especially after his statement to the press, and the scandal it would cause. And then there was Harry. His wayward husband would be furious with him again. But then again, wasn’t the fiery raven already mad at him for no real reason anyway? And as long as he didn’t find out, what could it hurt? He was the one who walked out after all.

With that thought in mind, he downed the rest of his drink, and, making sure his CEO wasn’t watching, took her arm and led her out the back.

888888

Harry stared absently around his shop, he wasn’t sure what was wrong, but he knew something was off. He had gone back to work the day after he had gone to see Tony. Steve had tried to convince him to go back and finish his vacation, but his gut was telling him he needed to stay for the time being.

It was getting rather late, and he was just about to lock up, when he saw someone headed for the door. He frowned slightly as he recognized a rather frazzled looking Pepper Potts. He hesitated for just a moment before opening the door for the redhead. As soon as she stepped inside, he flipped the sign from Open to Closed and threw the deadbolt.

“So, Pepper,” he turned to look at her, “what brings you in so late?”

“Oh, Harry,” she sighed, wringing her hands in front of her, “I need your help. Do you have anything to help with seizures?”

“Seizures?” his frown deepened, as he mentally began running through his stock. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” she shook her head. “It’s not for me.”

“Who’s it for?” his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Tony,” the redhead took a shuddering breath. “He just started seizing after the gala the other night and he refuses to see a doctor.”

“Of course, it’s him,” green eyes rolled in slight annoyance. “Look, Pepper, I need you to tell me what exactly happened to cause these seizures.”

“Is that really necessary?” she frowned.

“For him, yes,” he shook his head and began leading her through the shop in the direction of his apartment.

“Alright,” she shrugged, if it would help Tony she’d talk. “The night of the gala, around two, Jarvis alerted me that Tony had collapsed, and was having seizures about every two hours. That was two days ago. Since then, he has refused to see a doctor, and the seizures have increased in frequency to once an hour.”

“I see,” he pursed his lips, as he grabbed a couple vials from a cabinet in his living room. “Alright. Take me to him.”

“Harry, I can’t do that,” she protested. “Last time was different. I can’t just let you go see him when he can’t defend himself.”

“I respect that, Pepper, I really do,” he ran a hand through his hair. “But you asked for my help. And right now, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that can help. Now, I’m not saying I have to go alone, but one way or another, I have to see Tony in person.”

“Fine,” she finally conceded after a few moments. “But I’m going with you.”

“Alright,” he nodded, motioning for her to lead the way.

Pepper took a deep, steadying breath before heading out of the apartment. Harry took a moment to gather his keys, phone, and wallet before following after her. He caught up with her at the front door, and unlocked it and held it open for her. Once they were both outside, he locked it back up and turned to follow her to her car.

They rode in silence for the entire drive to Stark Tower. Harry was rather surprised by their destination, as Tony had told him the penthouse wasn’t completely furnished yet. He turned to ask Pepper about it, but she seemed more intent on getting inside. He decided the best course of action was to just continue following her lead, and not quibble over trivialities.

Pepper unlocked the front door and they went inside. She relocked the door, and made a beeline for the elevator. The trip up to the penthouse took little time at all, and before long they were exiting the lift into the main room.

The sight that greeted them had Pepper gasping in dismay and running into the room. Lying next to the couch was the unconscious and currently convulsing form of Tony Stark. Harry hurried over, pulling a vial out and uncorking it with his teeth.

“Hold him down,” he commanded as he took the bearded chin in his hand and forced the potion into the billionaire’s mouth.

It took a moment, but the other man finally lay still and appeared to have falling into a more natural sleep.

“What was that?” blue eyes rose to meet green.

“It’s not important,” he shook his head. “Right now, we need to get him somewhere more comfortable.”

“The bedroom’s down the hall,” she pointed. “Can you carry him?”

“It might take a bit, but I think I can manage.”

He got his feet under him and shifted Tony into his arms. He struggled for a moment, but finally managed to get upright. He tossed his head, indicating that Pepper should lead the way. She nodded and began walking to the other side of the penthouse. She went to a door and held it open for the raven haired man. Harry preceded her into the room, and just barely refrained from shaking his head when he saw it was fully furnished. Instead, he went straight to the king sized bed and set the still sleeping billionaire down. With help from Pepper, they tucked him in and made sure he would be comfortable. When that was done, they both made their way back into the living room.

Harry led Pepper over to the couch before heading to the bar. He grabbed the nearest bottle, not really caring what it was, and a couple of glasses. Before he rejoined the redhead, he subtly slipped two drops of calming draught into each glass.

“Here,” he poured her a small measure of the alcohol and handed it to her as he sat down on the other end of the sofa. “Drink. It’ll help settle your nerves.”

“Thanks,” she took it and ran the glass between her hands a couple times before shooting it back. “What the hell is wrong with him?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure,” he sighed and knocked back his own drink. “But I have a pretty good idea. I need to talk to him about it first, though. So, why don’t you go and get some rest, I’ll stay here and talk to him when he wakes up.”

“I can’t do that,” she shook her head, but he could tell the potion was starting to work. “I can’t just leave Tony with a stranger, especially when he’s like this.”

“Look, Pepper,” he took a deep breath, “you asked for my help. I’m actually surprised that he didn’t send you to get me, especially if I’m right about what’s wrong with him. I promise I’m not going to kill him in his sleep.”

“But…” she protested.

“Pepper, I’m his husband,” he cut her off. “The reason I was mad at him was because he went to the press. I don’t have any proof at the moment, aside from this,” he held up his left hand, where the gold wedding band winked in the artificial light, “cause I gave it to Tony. Wait, Jarvis?” he addressed the ceiling. “You’ve been oddly quiet tonight, considering I didn’t silence you.”

“My apologies, Mr. Potter,” the A.I. spoke up. “Mr. Stark has forbidden me from speaking to Miss Potts for the foreseeable future.”

“I see,” his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Well, I’m not Miss Potts, so can you tell me where Tony put the marriage certificate I gave him?”

“It is in his private lab, which unfortunately you do not have access to at present.”

“Damn it!” he practically growled in frustration.

“I do, however, have a copy stored in my database,” Jarvis continued. “Would you like for me to pull it up?”

“That won’t be necessary, Jarvis, thank you,” Pepper interjected. “I believe you, Harry. So, I’ll go and leave him in your capable hands. Just call me and keep me updated, since apparently Jarvis won’t.”

“I’ll do that,” he gave her a brief smile. “Get some rest, I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Thank you,” she pushed to her feet and began heading for the elevator. “Oh, and Harry, we will talk about all this later.”

“Of course,” he nodded. “Good night, Pepper.”

With that she stepped into the elevator, leaving Harry alone. He sat back on the couch and let out a longsuffering sigh. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. Even though it wasn’t overly late, he was exhausted. With another sigh, he pulled his wand and summoned his glass and the bottle to his hand, too tired to even move at the moment.

“Okay, Jarvis,” he said after he poured himself a glass, “since I’m not Pepper, I want you to tell me exactly what happened. Starting with whether Tony had anyone up here before all this started.”

“He did, sir,” Jarvis complied. “He arrived here from the gala at eleven forty-five P.M. with a young woman. Roughly ten minutes later, the first seizure began and she left screaming.”

“Thanks, Jarvis, that’s all I need to know,” he shook his head.

So he had been right, the anti-cheating charm had been activated. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He needed to find a way to fix this. With that thought in mind, he fished out his phone and called the one person he knew who knew anything about this situation, not caring about the time difference.

~What did you do now?~ it was picked up on the fourth ring.

“Contrary to popular belief, I don’t do things to get into trouble,” he pouted.

~Yeah, yeah, whatever. You wouldn’t be calling this late if you weren’t in some kind of trouble, so just cut the crap and tell me what happened.~

“Look, Dray,” Harry sighed, “I just need to know how to lessen or get rid of the effects of the anti-cheating charm.”

~You cheated on him?~ the blond asked incredulously. ~It’s barely been a week, Harry.~

“I didn’t cheat,” his eyes narrowed into a glare. “Now, can you help me or not?”

~I have no clue,~ Draco replied. ~But I know someone who does.~

“Draco, no…” but he could tell it was too late as static filled his ear.

He waited rather impatiently for the former Slytherin to get to his destination. He really wished Draco hadn’t done what he was sure he had done. He really, really didn’t want to be the reason Severus Snape was woken up in the middle of the night.

A moment later, the static cleared and he could hear faint talking in the background.

~Yes?~ the voice of his least favorite professor filled his ear.

“Hello, Professor,” he said hesitantly. “I’m sorry to bother you so late. But just so you know this was all Draco’s idea.”

~Get to the point, Potter,~ he hissed.

“Right,” Harry shivered slightly. “Um, well, I don’t know if Draco told you, but I, um, got married, and I was wondering if you, um, had any idea how to lessen or remove the effects of the anti-cheating charm?”

~No, I don’t,~ he replied.

“Alright then, sorry to bother…” he trailed off as another voice entered the conversation, one he was sure he recognized from somewhere.

~Why are you handing me a phone? Good evening, Draco. Uh, hello?~

“Uh, hi,” he frowned. “Who is this?”

~Remus,~ he answered. ~Who is this?~

“R-Remus?” he stuttered. “Wait, you’re married to Snape?”

~Yes,~ he could tell the werewolf was frowning. ~I’ll ask again, who is this?~

“It-it’s Harry,” he shook his head. “How long have you been married to Snape?”

~Harry,~ the other let out a slow breath. ~That is a long story for another time, but we got married the day before your parents’ wedding. But that can’t be the reason you called, not at this hour.~

“No, no, it’s not,” he rubbed his forehead. “Um, so apparently Snape thinks you might know, but I need to know how to lessen or stop the effects of an anti-cheating charm in a marriage binding ritual?”

~Wait, you’re married? To whom?~ Remus asked confused.

“Yeah, long story for another time,” Harry sighed. “Apparently, we need to catch up at some point. Anyway do-do you know?”

~Uh, yes, actually. There needs to be physical contact between the bonded pair.~

~Sex,~ Draco’s voice interrupted from a distance. ~He means sex.~

~No, not sex,~ the werewolf countered. ~Just any physical contact.~

“Okay,” the raven nodded. “For how long?”

~It varies, depending on the situation,~ Remus sighed. ~It took me twenty-four hours, but then again Severus refused to tell me about it for several days.~

“Wow,” Harry chuckled slightly. “Snape tried to cheat on you? No wonder he didn’t want to talk about it. Anyway, thanks. I should probably go and take care of this then. I’ll let you guys get back to sleep. We’ll catch up soon.”

~We should,~ he agreed. ~Maybe you and your spouse could come visit us, once everything is situated.~

“Yeah, we’ll see,” he scoffed. “Anyway, good night, Remus.”

~Good night, Harry.~

With that the line went dead. He sighed and poured himself another drink. He downed it in one go before getting to his feet and making his way back to the bedroom. He was about to enter when he realized he should probably turn off the rest of the lights. He had just turned around to do so when they flickered off. He didn’t question it, but continued into the bedroom.

Once inside, he kicked off his shoes and emptied his pockets before removing his pants and climbing into bed beside his still sleeping husband. He slipped his arms around the other male and let himself drift off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 3: Getting to Know You

Chapter 3: Getting to Know You

 

Tony woke the next morning feeling better than he had in days. The haze of pain he’d been in since the gala was finally over. As he went to stretch, he felt something that didn’t belong in his bed. There was a warm body pressed against his back and an arm thrown across his chest. He craned his neck to see who it was, only to scramble away a moment later as he recognized the sleeping face of his husband.

Green eyes fluttered open, as the movement obviously brought him around. They blinked several times and then moved about the room, a frown marring his features. His expression cleared, however, when his gaze finally landed on the billionaire.

“Oh, right,” he turned away and began fumbling with something on the nightstand. “How are you feeling?”

“Peachy,” he shook his head. “What are you doing here?”

“Pepper came and asked for my help,” he turned back, his glasses now settled on his face. “I was actually surprised you didn’t send her. Anyway, she knows now, by the way. It was the only way she’d let me stay. So you just couldn’t keep it in your pants, could you? I warned you. What? Did you think I was just blowing smoke out my ass?”

“You did something, didn’t you?” brown eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What was it? Microchip under the skin? Hacked into my security cameras? Remote control taser? What? What did you do to me?”

“I know you don’t want to hear it,” the raven shook his head, “but I did nothing to you. Everything that happened to you was a direct result of your actions. Now, I will explain everything more in detail, but first, how about I make some breakfast?”

“You can cook?” Tony asked curiously.

“I’m a fair shake at it, if I do say so myself,” he shrugged as he finally got out of bed.

He quickly located his pants and pulled them on. He then made his way to the door but paused with his hand on the knob. He glanced over his shoulder at Tony, who hadn’t moved.

“Are you coming?” he asked with a raised brow.

“I’m actually gonna grab a shower,” the billionaire shook his head. “Due to unfortunate, unforeseen circumstances I haven’t been able to have one for a few days. You’re, uh, welcome to join me if you’d like.”

His eyes raked over his husband’s back. He was wearing too many clothes for Tony’s taste. He really wanted to see that lithe body again and commit every inch of it to memory. The fleeting images of their one night together just weren’t enough anymore, not with what he was discovering the more he got to know his new husband.

Harry looked to be seriously considering taking him up on the offer, and Tony’s heart leapt. He really did want more from the young man in front of him, and he always got what he wanted.

“No,” he finally said. “I’m going to go start breakfast. I would suggest you hurry, it should be ready in about twenty minutes. Besides, I have to call Pepper.”

With that, he left the room, leaving Tony on his own. He made his way down the hall to the small, but state of the art kitchen area. He frowned as he opened the refrigerator and saw very little inside. He was going to have to fix that at some point. In the meantime, he knew he had everything he would need at home.

On that thought, he Apparated to his apartment. He made his way to his bedroom first, to change his clothes. As he dressed, he pulled out his phone and dialed Pepper’s number.

~Hello?~ she answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Pepper, it’s Harry.”

~Harry!~ she said anxiously. ~How’s Tony? Is he alright? Were there any more episodes?~

“He’s fine,” he reassured her. “Completely better.”

~But how is that possible?~ he could tell she was frowning. ~How can you be sure?~

“It’s a long story,” he sighed. “I can’t go into it right now, I’m getting ready to make breakfast. Anyway, I promised I’d call, so I called. I’ll have Tony call you later. Bye.”

And before she could press him further, he ended the call. He took a deep breath as he made his way to the kitchen. He began gathering the things he would need and began dialing another number.

~Hello?~

“Hey, Steve, I need a favor.”

~Anything, Harry, you know that,~ the other answered immediately.

“I need you to run the shop today,” he said as he began packing the food into a bag for transport. “Something came up and I’m not going to be able to make it in.”

~Yeah, sure,~ he agreed. ~Is everything okay?~

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that,” Harry reassured him. “I’ll tell you more about it later. Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

~Okay, see you tomorrow, Harry.~

He hung up the phone, grabbed the bag of food, and Apparated back to Stark Tower. He pulled a couple pans out of a cupboard and began cooking. A couple minutes later, the penthouse was filled with the smell of frying bacon.

Ten minutes later, Tony emerged from the bedroom, fully dressed with a towel thrown around his shoulders. He groaned appreciatively as he came into the room and smelled the food. Green eyes rolled good-naturedly as he filled a plate and set it on the counter. Tony took a seat at the island and pulled the plate over as Harry filled his own and sat down next to him.

“Okay, where’d you order from?” the billionaire asked as he took a bite, doing everything in his power not to moan as the food practically melted on his tongue.

“I didn’t order it,” the raven shook his head. “I made it.”

“Right,” Tony scoffed. “I don’t have the stuff to make this.”

“No, you don’t,” he agreed. “This came from my place.”

“Nuh-uh, not possible,” brown eyes turned incredulously to him. “The closest residence from here is at least twenty minutes away. You didn’t have time.”

“Look, Tony,” Harry took a calming breath, “I’m gonna ask one favor of you. I need you to keep an open mind. A lot of things are going to be discussed today, but I promise I will be telling you the truth.”

“Fine,” the genius agreed rather reluctantly. “I will withhold judgment until the end.”

“Great,” a brief smile graced his features. “But before we get into that, I have a few questions.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“So, I know you said it wasn’t your plan to marry me,” he ran his hand through his hair, “but what do you remember of that night?”

“Well,” Tony pursed his lips in thought, “I remember going to the club, looking for some action, and seeing you. I went over and started flirting, and you were completely open to it, just sayin’, and then I ordered a drink, then it gets kinda fuzzy, and then the next thing I knew, we were having some of the most amazing sex I’ve ever had, and considering its me, that’s saying something.”

“Lucky you,” Harry shook his head. “Because truthfully, I remember going to the club and ordering a drink, and then the next thing I knew I was waking up in your bed, hungover as shit.”

“So, wait,” the genius frowned, his mind going in several directions at once, “are you saying you think you might have been drugged?”

“It’s a possibility,” he shrugged. “But that’s not overly important at the moment. And I only say that because you don’t remember getting married either.”

“How is that not important?” the billionaire interjected. “Because for both of us not to remember, that means I got drugged, too. Maybe with a lighter dose, but still.”

“I’m not saying it’s not bad, Tony, it is,” Harry sighed heavily. “But it doesn’t really matter right now, because the fact of the matter is, drugged or not, we got married. And not just married, and this is where you’re going to have to trust me a bit, but we are now magically bound to each other.”

“Right…”

“Tony, you promised to listen,” the wizard gave him a pointed look. “Now I know this is going to be hard for you to accept, but I can prove it, okay? Just let me talk first. I am a wizard, trained since I was eleven years old, and part of a secret community of witches and wizards.”

“So you’re part of a secret cult of ‘magic’ users in Britain?” Tony scoffed. “Why don’t I just call Oz and tell them to send a tornado to take you back?”

“They’re not just in Britain, there’s at least one community in every country in the world, multiple in some, like here in the States. And it’s not a cult. But I see the only way to convince you, is to show you.”

He pulled his wand from his sleeve and pointed it at the dishes on the stove, which floated over to the sink and began washing themselves. Tony pushed away from the bar in shock, his chair clattering loudly to the floor, and stood staring between the dishes and his new spouse.

“That’s not possible!” he practically shouted. “Jarvis!”

“There is an energy I cannot quantify, sir,” the A.I. replied levelly. “It is similar to the energy used to silence my speech protocols when Mr. Potter first arrived.”

“I’m not going to hurt you, Tony,” Harry said quietly. “Just please sit down.”

It took a moment, but the billionaire finally righted his chair and sat down, but there was now a sizable distance between the two of them. Green eyes closed in resignation before he continued.

“Magic is very real. Most people just choose to ignore it. And you probably could’ve gotten away with not seeing it, except that you chose to get tangled up with me in that bar. But, sadly, it’s not something you can ignore any more. I mean, I’m sure you’ve tried to take off that ring, but you can’t, and apparently if you cut off that finger it’ll just shift to another. And, look, I understand if you want nothing to do with me after this, but, I’m not trying to threaten you here, if you ever want to have sex again, it has to be with me, or there will be a repeat of what you just went through for the past few days. Because, apparently, whoever did this to us, also made sure there was an anti-cheating charm woven into the ritual.”

“Wait,” he held up his hand, “so you’re saying that what I just went through was some sick fucker’s idea of a joke?”

“Not necessarily a joke,” the raven scowled, “but yeah, someone basically did this to us.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed again. “I mean, it could’ve been anyone. There are a couple ways we can find out, but we may never know for sure.”

“Okay,” Tony shook his head. “How do you propose we do that? Because I really want to find this person and introduce them to my Iron Man suit. I won’t even use the repulsor beams, I’ll just beat them with the metal fists.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, I do,” Harry chuckled slightly. “It won’t change our current circumstances though.”

“It’ll make me feel better,” the brunet crossed his arms over his chest. “So how do we find out? If nothing else, I can ruin them financially.”

“Well, we can start by finding the witnesses, and see what they know,” the bespectacled man shrugged.

“Fine,” the billionaire conceded. “Jarvis, bring up the marriage certificate.”

Tony pulled out his phone and set it on the counter. A moment later, the screen showed a digital copy of the official document. His eyes darted rapidly over the screen for a moment, a frown marring his features.

“I don’t know either of them,” he huffed. “You ever heard of a Pansy Parkinson or a Ginevra…”

“Weasley,” Harry finished for him, a dark look crossing his features. “I should have known, this has her brand of crazy written all over it.”

“You know her?” a dark brow rose curiously.

“I know both of them,” he pulled out his phone. “I went to school with both of them. In fact, Ginny was my first girlfriend.”

“And I’m supposed to trust you and believe you didn’t set this all up?” Tony countered.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” he paused in his search through his phone, “I haven’t had anything to do with Ginny Weasley for over seven years. Yeah, I dated her for a couple months when I was sixteen. And, yeah, I might have toyed with the idea of getting back together with her for about a year. But you know what really drove the wedge between us? I think it was when she planned our wedding.

“I wasn’t even eighteen years old. I had just moved to the States and opened my shop. She had waited until I was gone to tell everyone I had proposed before I left. The date was set, invitations were sent out, and when I didn’t show up for the wedding I knew nothing about, her six older brothers showed up in New York, looking for my blood. I haven’t spoken to any of them since that day, even though one of them was supposed to be my best friend, and I was business partners with two of them.”

“Damn,” the older male whistled softly. “And here I thought my first fiancé was bad. Don’t ask. We can discuss that at a later point. Right now, we’re dealing with this. Do you want me to ruin those business partners of yours? I could drive away their business, buy the company…”

“As sweet as that is,” he shook his head, “I’ve already dealt with the twins. I sold my share of the business almost immediately after that, to my current business partner actually. And let’s just say, those two families don’t get along, think Montagues and Capulets, without the star-crossed lovers. And their ‘silent’ partner became active. And their dreams of becoming an internationally famous franchise dwindled to two stores in Britain. I mean, they still do alright, but no investor will touch them, and no outside store will pick up their products.”

“Brutal,” Tony chuckled. “Remind me not to piss you off. Speaking of, since I obviously didn’t truly piss you off, what were you upset about the other day?”

“Well,” he sighed, and turned back to his phone, “I originally came over to have this conversation, tell you about magic, discuss our options, and yell at you for going to the press, I hate the press and we’ll just leave it at that for now, but what really got me was that you were willing to dismiss everything so easily. I don’t do one night stands, and had I been in my right mind, I would’ve told you no.”

“But why?” the playboy asked incredulously. “I’m hot stuff. And I have a hard time believing you don’t play the scene, you’re a little wild cat.”

“Believe it or not,” Harry chuckled wryly, “I’ve only slept with two people before you. I had a long standing arrangement with my business partner, who also happens to be my best friend. We dated for a little while, but we both knew we weren’t going to make it as a couple, so we ended that, and just continued to help each other out, until he got into a serious relationship. The other was a one nighter, but he went to the press and I got labeled a slut because of it. And as for you, you have something of a reputation and normally I wouldn’t want any part of it, no matter how hot you are. Now, if you’ll give me minute, I need to make a phone call.”

He hit the dial button on his phone and placed the device to his ear. He really hoped this number was still good, considering he hadn’t called it in eight years. It rang four times and he was about to hang up when someone finally answered.

~Weasley-Granger residence, this is Hermione speaking.~

“Hello, Hermione,” he greeted coolly. “It’s been awhile.”

~Harry?~ she sounded stunned, which he couldn’t blame her for.

“Yeah,” he took a deep breath, he was not going to give in to nostalgia. “Look, I didn’t call to catch up, or offer an olive branch, because I have nothing to apologize for, I just need to know where Ginny is.”

~Sh-she’s on her honeymoon,~ Hermione stuttered slightly.

“Honeymoon?” he frowned, that crazy bitch better not be spreading more lies about him.

~Yeah, um, in a surprise move after the Quidditch World Cup in the States, she and her girlfriend, Pansy, got married in Las Vegas.~

“I see. Goodbye, Hermione.”

~Harry, wait!~

He hung up the phone and tossed it on the counter. He put his hand on his forehead and rubbed his eyes behind his glasses. This whole thing was starting to give him a massive headache.

“Well, that was a waste of time,” he sighed heavily. “Now she’s going to try and get in contact with me again. Though since Pansy’s involved, I could probably have Draco get her to talk to me when she gets back.”

He reached for the phone again, but Tony grabbed it before he could. Green eyes rose and locked with brown.

“I think that can wait till later,” the genius smirked slightly. “Since it seems that that avenue is currently closed, we can go back to it later. As much as I’d like to find out how this happened, I think there’s more important things to discuss.”

“Right,” Harry shook his head. “So now you know the truth, as much as we can know about this situation, so I guess I’ll answer any questions you have.”

“I have a lot of questions,” the brunet shook his head, “there’s a lot I want to know, but at the moment, I can’t formulate a single one. So how about when I come up with one I’ll just ask.”

“Sounds good,” he nodded.

“Doesn’t matter, day or night, I’ll just ask.”

“Okay, I got it,” Harry chuckled slightly. “I will answer any questions you have, no matter what time. But Tony, I can’t stress this enough, magic is a secret. It’s not like the Iron Man. If you talk about it to anyone who doesn’t already know, wizards will come and modify your memory. And being a genius and all, having magic meddle with that brain of yours might not be a good thing. I know a guy who doesn’t even know his own name anymore after a botched Memory Charm.”

“Okay, no talking, got it,” Tony held out his hands. “Contrary to popular belief, I do know how to keep a secret. Anyway, I think right now, there are more important things to discuss: Like when you’ll start moving your stuff in.”

“Tony, we’re not ready for that,” green eyes rolled slightly in annoyance. “We hardly know each other.”

“Details,” the billionaire waved him off. “Look, Harry, we’re married, and apparently we can’t get out of it. But even before I found that tidbit out, I wanted to find you and make this work. So it makes sense for you to move in, and we can get to know each other from there. Besides, the tower’s almost finished, I just need a couple of weeks to finish the arc reactor and get it off the grid.”

“As nice as that sounds,” he shook his head, “I’m not moving in. I’m not saying it won’t happen eventually, but I’m not living with a complete stranger. On that note, I think we should take a step back and get to know each other better, try dating first and then we can consider living together.”

“Are you asking me on a date?” Tony quirked a brow as he pushed slowly to his feet.

“Not at the moment,” Harry watched him warily.

“That’s too bad,” the genius began sauntering around the other, who turned slowly on the stool to keep him in his sights. “I think we both could’ve had a lot of fun.”

He came to a stop when the younger man was directly between him and the counter. As quick as anything, he swooped in and placed his arms on either side of his husband, trapping him against the counter. He then leaned in and captured Harry’s lips with his own.

It took only a moment before the other melted into the embrace. Tony couldn’t help but smirk to himself, he still had it. He had just managed to lift the smaller male onto the counter, still maintaining the kiss, and began to undo his belt and pants, when the chime of the elevator filled the penthouse.


End file.
